Discovering that your rented home contains damaged asbestos — or that work was done around you without proper controls — is frightening. You're worried about your health, your children, and whether the person responsible for the building has put you at risk. And the first question most tenants type into Google is exactly the one in our title.
This guide explains what your landlord's legal duties are, when a claim against a landlord may realistically arise, and — most usefully — the practical steps to take right now that protect both your health and your legal position.
One thing to be clear about upfront: we're asbestos removal specialists, not solicitors. Treat this as plain-English guidance rather than legal advice. For the broader picture of who is responsible for what in rented homes, see our companion guide to asbestos responsibility in rental properties.
What Your Landlord Is Legally Required to Do
Landlords must keep rented homes safe and free from serious hazards, and several overlapping pieces of law bear directly on asbestos:
- The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 lets tenants in England take direct court action where a home is unfit to live in. Asbestos is one of the 29 hazards assessed under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) that feed into fitness.
- The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (s.11) obliges landlords to keep the structure and exterior in repair — which covers damaged asbestos materials that form part of the building.
- The Defective Premises Act 1972 imposes a duty of care to prevent personal injury arising from defects the landlord should have addressed.
- In communal areas of flats and HMOs, the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 places a formal duty to manage asbestos on whoever controls the building — stairwells, corridors, plant rooms and shared entrances are legally treated like commercial premises.
Just as important is what the law does not say: intact asbestos in good condition is not itself unlawful. Millions of UK homes contain asbestos materials that are safest left undisturbed and managed. Landlord liability generally arises from damaged asbestos left unrepaired after notice, or from disturbing asbestos through botched maintenance or renovation — not from its mere presence.
When a Claim May Arise
Broadly, tenants pursue two very different types of action, and it helps to know which conversation you're in.
Housing Conditions Claims
These arise where damaged asbestos (among other defects) makes the property unfit or in disrepair, and the landlord fails to act after being properly notified. Remedies can include an order to carry out the works, damages reflecting the period you lived with the problem, and costs. The key ingredients are evidence of the defect, evidence that the landlord knew, and evidence of time passing without action — which is why the paper trail you build now matters so much.
Personal Injury Claims
Claims for asbestos-related disease are serious but slower-burning. Conditions such as mesothelioma, asbestosis and asbestos-related lung cancer typically develop decades after exposure. Claims are generally brought within three years of diagnosis or knowledge — not within three years of the exposure itself — so a tenant exposed today might bring a claim in the 2050s. At that distance, evidence of the original exposure becomes the whole case: what was disturbed, when, by whom, and who was present. Document everything now, even if you never need it.
What to Do Right Now
- Don't disturb the material. Keep everyone away from damaged boards, coatings or debris. Don't sweep it, don't use a household vacuum — both spread fibres far more effectively than leaving it alone.
- Report it in writing. Email your landlord or agent describing the damage, with photos and the date. Keep copies. Written notice is what starts the legal clock on their duty to act — a phone call they can later deny does not.
- Get it confirmed. Identification requires sampling and analysis at a UKAS-accredited laboratory. A confirmed result transforms your position from suspicion to evidence. See our asbestos testing page and our guide to testing costs.
- Escalate if ignored. Your local council's environmental health team can inspect under the HHSRS and serve improvement notices on landlords who fail to act — and enforcement action is powerful evidence in any later claim.
- Record any exposure event. Dates, photos, what work was done, who did it, how long it lasted, who was present — including children. Email the record to yourself so it's date-stamped.
- Speak to a specialist solicitor if you believe you've suffered significant exposure or have a diagnosis. Many offer free initial assessments, and time limits run from the date of knowledge.
Can I Withhold Rent or Just Leave?
Withholding rent is risky and can put you in breach of your tenancy even where the landlord is clearly in the wrong — take advice before going down that road. Leaving may be the right personal decision in a genuinely unsafe home, but doing it without protecting your position can cost you the deposit and weaken a claim.
The stronger route is usually the boring one: written notice, council involvement, and professional confirmation of the hazard. If the property is genuinely unsafe, environmental health can act quickly — and a home judged unfit gives rise to remedies without you having to break your agreement first.
If You're a Landlord Reading This
The flip side is straightforward: respond to asbestos reports promptly and in writing, get suspect materials tested rather than guessed at, use licensed contractors for anything licensable, and keep the certificates. The landlords who end up on the wrong side of these claims are almost never the ones who acted on notice — they're the ones who sent a handyman with a sander. We work with landlords and letting agents across the region on exactly this; a £100 test and a documented repair is the cheapest insurance in property.
Choosing a Qualified Asbestos Removal Contractor
Whether you're a tenant pushing for action or a landlord responding to a report, the contractor's credentials determine whether the work fixes the problem or becomes part of it. For licensable work, only an HSE-licensed contractor can legally carry out the removal — and for non-licensed work, you should still expect evidence of asbestos training, insurance that actually covers asbestos, and a registered waste carrier arrangement.
AIB Solutions have held a full HSE Asbestos Removal Licence since 2005. We are ARCA members, hold the ARCA Gold Training Award 2024/25, and our operatives hold RSPH-accredited vocational qualifications. You can view our full credentials on our accreditations page, and see what customers say across our 359 Google reviews (4.9★).
Three quick checks before you accept any quote: ask to see the contractor's HSE licence if the material is licensable; ask whether disposal and consignment notes are included in the price; and ask who is actually doing the work — some firms win the job and subcontract it. With AIB Solutions, the team that quotes is the team that turns up.
Frequently Asked Questions
My landlord did DIY work and I think asbestos was disturbed. What now?
Note the date and details, photograph everything including any dust or debris, put your concerns in writing, and ask for air testing and a proper clean-up by a licensed contractor. Don't clean contamination yourself — and keep the clothes worn during the work bagged rather than washed with the family laundry.
Does my landlord have to remove all asbestos from the property?
No — undamaged asbestos in good condition is usually managed in place, and that's consistent with HSE guidance. The obligation is to deal properly with damaged or disturbed materials, and to not create disturbance through careless works.
Who pays for testing?
Investigating hazards in the property is the landlord's responsibility. If you commission testing yourself for peace of mind, keep the receipts — costs can sometimes be recovered in a successful claim, and the certificate is yours either way.
How much compensation do asbestos claims pay?
Housing conditions damages are typically a percentage of rent for the affected period. Personal injury awards for diagnosed asbestos disease are a different order of magnitude entirely — but they require a diagnosis and specialist legal advice, which is beyond what we can responsibly put numbers on here.
I'm worried about one-off exposure during botched work. How dangerous was it?
A single brief exposure carries low risk — asbestos disease is overwhelmingly associated with repeated, prolonged exposure. That's a reason for calm, not complacency: document the event, get the material confirmed, and make sure it can't happen again.